Chaminade University of Honolulu

Gift

Clarence T.C. Ching Foundation Supports Chaminade Psy.D. Students

Chaminade University of Honolulu recently received nearly $480,000 from the Clarence T.C. Ching Foundation to provide scholarships to students of the Chaminade Psy.D. program, formerly housed at Argosy University.

Group picture receiving check from Clarence T.C. Ching Foundation to provide scholarships to students

When Argosy closed its doors mid-semester in March 2019, Chaminade was quick to act. Within weeks, the university acquired the Hawaii School of Professional Psychology (HSPP) doctor of psychology program and hired all of the full-time Psy.D. staff and faculty members.

Chaminade was determined to provide the students with a seamless transition and allow them to continue their spring classes. The Clarence T.C. Ching Foundation gift provided student scholarships for Psy.D. students to help with spring semester tuition at Chaminade, as they had already paid their spring semester tuition to Argosy.

“We are incredibly grateful to the Clarence T.C. Ching Foundation,” says Dr. Sean Scanlan, director of the Psy.D. program at Chaminade University of Honolulu. “This generous gift helped ease the financial burden on students who had already experienced a tumultuous first part of the year when Argosy University suddenly closed.”

The five-year doctor of clinical psychology program is the only program of its kind in Hawaii. Last year, students volunteered over 12,000 hours of direct services through clinical practicums to people in the community. The program’s closure would have meant that there would be no accredited Psy.D. program within 2,400 miles of Hawaii, severely impacting Hawaii’s mental health services. The move to acquire the program by Chaminade—and the support of the Clarence T.C. Ching Foundation—eliminated this potential crisis and allowed students to continue providing care to their patients.

“This program fulfills such an important need in our community,” says Tertia Freas, executive director for the Clarence T.C. Ching Foundation. “It is our honor to support these incredible students in their journey to bring much-needed mental health services to Hawaii.”

Chaminade received permission from both accrediting bodies—the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC) and the American Psychological Association (APA)—to provide a teach-out, ensuring enrolled students can complete their degrees. The university recently received approval for the program from WSCUC, allowing Chaminade to continue the program into the future.

“We are excited to bring the Psy.D. program to Chaminade. It is a perfect fit for the academic programs we already provide and consistent with our mission to provide service to the community,” says Dr. Lynn Babington, president of Chaminade University of Honolulu. “Over the past 30 years, HSPP, as the only clinical psychology program in the state, has educated and trained hundreds of psychologists who have provided countless mental health services to Hawaii.”

Chaminade to Offer a New Emergency Student Endowment Fund

Chaminade University Board of Governors member Julie T. Watumull and her husband JD Watumull have gifted over $100,000 to start an endowed emergency student fund at Chaminade University. The “Julie T. and JD Watumull Fund for Emergency Student Grants” will be the first of its kind at Chaminade, specifically created to help students who have experienced an unexpected temporary hardship while attending the university.

Students who receive the emergency grant will not need to repay the funds. There is an application process, and grants range from $100-$1,000, depending on the situation. The Watumull Fund will be administered by the Dean of Students, Allison Jerome, in close consultation with the Office of Financial Aid and other support service areas on campus.

“We have students who need assistance with unexpected and unforeseen emergency expenses, and this new fund gives us the ability to provide support in a different way,” said Jerome. “Our goal is to help students during a time of need so that they can address the emergency and continue to make progress towards their degrees. Being able to provide a small grant to a student is just one way to show how the Chaminade community cares for each student.”

Members of the Watumull family are longtime supporters of Chaminade with a 14-year philanthropic history at the university including the Fund for Chaminade and the Hogan Entrepreneurial Program’s business study missions to India, through the J. Watumull Foundation and Gulab and Indru Watumull.

Julie and JD’s vision to establish a new student emergency fund is bound to help generations of students at Chaminade for many years to come.

Chaminade University Receives $100,000 Challenge Gift

HONOLULU (APRIL 4, 2019) — Chaminade University received an anonymous challenge gift of $100,000 to support the new Silversword Training Center and Locker Rooms facility. The challenge gift was given to the university to galvanize interest and financial support for the first newly constructed building on Chaminade’s campus since 2012.    

“We are so grateful to our anonymous donor for this generous gift,” said Dr. Lynn Babington, president of Chaminade University. “We have already received several smaller matching gifts in response to this challenge.”

The Silversword Athletics Training Center and Locker Rooms facility was completed in March 2019. Its state-of-the-art locker rooms will include four locker rooms (two men’s and two women’s), a sports medicine room and a team film room, and it will have the capacity to host conference tournaments. It will be the first facility of its kind at the university, ensuring the sustainability and progress of the Silversword Athletics program. 

“This new locker room facility will support our student-athletes and will greatly enhance our program’s visibility and sustainability,” said William Villa, athletics director at Chaminade University. “Our student-athletes are extremely excited and appreciative of this beautiful facility. We are Chaminade on the rise!”

To learn more about how to make a matching gift in support of the Silversword Athletics Training Center and Locker Rooms, contact Diane Peters-Nguyen, vice president of the Office of Advancement at Chaminade, at (808) 735-4772 or email [email protected]. 

This gift is in support of the Bridges to the Future campaign, Chaminade’s most ambitious fundraising effort to date—raising $100 million by December 2018 to bridge past successes with future initiatives. The Bridges campaign supports students of the university in the following four ways: ensuring student access and support, advancing academic progress, building a richer campus life and renewing athletic traditions.

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Chaminade University of Honolulu provides a collaborative and innovative learning environment that prepares graduate and undergraduate students for life, service and successful careers. Established in 1955, the university is guided by its Catholic, Marianist aid package and liberal arts educational traditions, which include a commitment to serving the Native Hawaiian population. Chaminade offers an inclusive setting where students, faculty and staff collectively pursue a more just and peaceful society.

Chaminade University Alumnus Gifts $25,000 to Help Ignite the Data Revolution

Matthew Howard '89

HONOLULU (March 12, 2019) — Chaminade University alumnus Matthew Howard ’89, a general partner of Norwest Venture Partners, and wife Kelli Omura Howard, have gifted $25,000 to Chaminade’s new Data Science Program. With lead funding provided by the National Science Foundation, the Data Science Program is the first of its kind in Hawaii and is set to welcome its first freshman class this fall.

“Chaminade is in a unique position to make data science accessible to nearly everyone,” said Howard. “Data science is becoming increasingly important for organizations to organize and synthesize their data assets to remain competitive, and to drive better decision making. Virtually no organization can escape these requirements. Nearly every industry and market is being reimagined.”

Howard received his BBA in Business, with an emphasis in information science, from Chaminade University in 1989, and has been member of Chaminade’s Board of Governors since 2014. He has over 30 years of experience in marketing, product management, engineering, business development, and sales in a wide range of technologies.

“This wonderful gift adds to the support we received from the National Science Foundation and other funders to start Hawaii’s first degree in data science, and its associated certificates for busy professionals,” said Dr. Helen Turner, Vice President for Strategy and Innovation, Dean of Natural Sciences and Mathematics at Chaminade University. “Our goal is to train data professionals who will arm every sector in our state’s economy – from healthcare to tourism – with the business intelligence to make great decisions.”

Students in the Data Science Program will collaborate directly with industry partners to gain real-world experience and build networks. They’ll work with businesses and organizations for a semester-long capstone project and engage in a variety of hands-on internships. Students will learn using new fully-equipped cyberinfrastructure created specifically for this new program, including a new data science center and virtual reality classrooms.

To learn more about the new data science, analytics and visualization major at Chaminade University, visit chaminade.edu.

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Chaminade University of Honolulu provides a collaborative and innovative learning environment that prepares graduate and undergraduate students for life, service and successful careers. Established in 1955, the university is guided by its Catholic, Marianist aid package and liberal arts educational traditions, which include a commitment to serving the Native Hawaiian population. Chaminade offers an inclusive setting where students, faculty and staff collectively pursue a more just and peaceful society.

Island Insurance Foundation Supports Science Learning

Island Insurance check presentationHONOLULU – The Island Insurance Foundation, the charitable arm of Island Insurance, a subsidiary of Island Holdings, Inc., donated $15,000 to Chaminade University towards renovations and upgrades of its science labs and office space for science faculty.

Over the past decade, Chaminade has transformed its Division of Natural Science and Mathematics programs with improvements like adding new lab facilities, faculty and research staff, and revamping the undergraduate STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) curriculum. As a result of these positive changes, Chaminade’s Forensic Sciences program was nationally recognized in 2018 and its School of Nursing program was recently tied for first in the nation by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing based on the number of graduates who passed the National Council of Licensure Examination (NCLEX).

“Chaminade has provided quality higher education to the people of Hawaii for nearly 70 years,” said Dana Tokioka, President of the Island Insurance Foundation. “Our support will enable the university to provide even more educational opportunities for many years to come.”
“We are so grateful to the Island Insurance Foundation for this generous gift,” said Lynn Babington, Ph.D., President of Chaminade University. “The renovations and upgrades to our science labs will enhance our ability to deliver cutting-edge science education to our students.”

 

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The Island Insurance Foundation was established as the charitable arm of Island Insurance, Hawaii’s largest locally-owned and managed property and casualty insurance carrier, offering a full range of property and casualty protection. Established in 1940, Island Insurance holds a financial strength rating of “A” by A.M. Best and is the only Hawaii-based company to be recognized as one of the Top 50 property & casualty insurance companies in the nation by the Ward Group for 11 consecutive years. For more information, visit its website at: www.islandinsurance.com.

 

Chaminade University of Honolulu provides a collaborative and innovative learning environment that prepares graduate and undergraduate students for life, service and successful careers. Established in 1955, the university is guided by its Catholic, Marianist aid package and liberal arts educational traditions, which include a commitment to serving the Native Hawaiian population. Chaminade offers an inclusive setting where students, faculty and staff collectively pursue a more just and peaceful society.

Alumnus Announces $10 K Gift during His Recent Campus Visit

Grelyn Rosario BA'94, MBA '98

Franchise owner/operator of six McDonald’s on the island of Maui, Grelyn Rosario, brought holiday cheer in the form of a $10,000 multi-year gift to Chaminade’s campus recently, stating that he was pleased to re-engage with the university and hoped to inspire future entrepreneurs and students through his example of giving back.

Last year, Rosario participated in the alumni reunion’s “50-Minute University” with an informative session during which he shared his path to owning and operating McDonald’s restaurants. Having gotten an early start at McDonald’s himself as a second-generation franchisee, Rosario found the time and discipline to attended Chaminade University, earning a bachelor’s degree in political science with a minor in history in 1994 and an MBA in 1998. While on campus, he reminisced fondly about his time as a student, noting that the campus has become much more beautiful during the years since his graduation

With a strong belief in giving back to the community, Rosario serves on numerous boards including Maui United Way and previously Maryknoll’s board. He created a fund in the Philippines to support educational projects, feed needy children and provides the necessary materials to upkeep churches in Magsingal Ilocos Sur, the area where his mom grew up. The Philippines Consulate General and the City Council of Valenzuela have also recognized Rosario for his contributions to the Filipino community.